Serologist: Furniture, but not knife and hammer, test positive for blood in Port Jervis slaying case

Thursday

Apr 10, 2014 at 1:55 PMApr 10, 2014 at 1:59 PM

Heather Yakin

GOSHEN -- Blood evidence took center stage Thursday in the Orange County Court murder trial of the boyfriend charged with killing TyRochelle Haughton and torching their home.

Haughton, 35, was found dead Jan. 15, 2013 in the house she shared with David Stevenson at 8 Mountain Ave. in Port Jervis. Prosecutors say Stevenson cut Haughton’s throat, fractured her skull and then set a fire in the house to try to cover up the homicide.

The prosecutors, assistant district attorneys Julie Mohl and Christopher Kelly, say Stevenson, 39, killed Haughton because she told him she planned to leave him. Stevenson is on trial before Judge Jeffrey Berry, facing charges including second-degree murder and arson.

A state police lab serologist testified on Thursday that samples of red stains taken from the walls, tub, sink and door of the bathroom where Haughton’s body was found tested positive for the possible presence of blood, as did a towel found near the body. Preliminary testing of a large kitchen knife found in the living room and a partly burned hammer found on a basement couch came up negative for the possible presence of blood, she testified.

Kelly asked if environmental factors could cause a negative result in an item that had been exposed to blood. The serologist said that was possible, if the item had been exposed to extreme heat or rain, or if the item had been wiped or washed.

On cross-examination, Stevenson’s lawyer, Jaime Santana, went back over the negative results on the knife and hammer. The serologist acknowledged seeing no wipe marks on the items nor smelling any cleaning fluids.Santana asked if it was possible that testing would turn up a negative result simply because the item had never been exposed to blood.

“Yes, it is,” the serologist answered.

The trial resumed Thursday afternoon with testimony expected from a DNA analyst and the medical examiner.